Method of making homogeneous mechanical junctures.



A. B. HERRIGK. METHOD OF MAKING HOMOGENEOUS MECHANICAL JUNCTURES.

' APPLIOATION I'ILED'00T.26, 1908. RENEWED MAR. 9, 1911.

' 1304192819 Patented 0011151912.

A. B. HERRIGK.

METHOD OF MAKING HOMOGENEOUS MECHANICAL JUNOTURES.

APPLICATION FILED 0GT.26, 190s. RENEWED MAR. 9, 1911.

1,041,281, Patented 00t.15,1912.

3 SHEBTS-SHEET 2.

llilllllllllllllll will ts 61S, I Z2 van/ax A. B. HERB-10K. METHOD OFMAKING HOMOGENEOUS MECHANICAL JUNGTURES.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.26, 1908v RENEWED MAR. 9, 1911.

Patented Oct. 15, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

i/iilza asasf UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT 1B. HERRICK, OF RIJJGEWOOD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE ELECTRICRAILWAY IMPROVEMENT COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

METHOD OF MAKING- HOMOG-ENEOUS MECHANICAL JUNCTURES.

Patented Oct. 15,1912.

Original application filed November 25, 1904, Serial No. 234,161.Divided and this application filed October 26, 1908, Serial No. 459,503.Renewed March 9, 1911. Serial No. 613,432.

To all whom "it may concem:

Be it known that I, ALBERT B. HERRICK, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Ridgewood, county of Bergen, and State oi New Jersey,have invented a new and useful Improyement in Methods of MakingHomogeneous Mechanical Junctures, of which the following is a specifiction, the principle of the invention bei herein explained and the bestmode in which I have contemplated applying that principle, so as todistinguish it from other inventions.

My invention relates to a method of making homogeneous mechanicaljunctures between two metallic bodies, and particularly tothe uniting ofcopper bonds and steel rails so as to bring the electrical conductivityof the abutting rails up to the required degree.

- The object oft-he invention is to provide such a bonding process thatmay be carried on in a rapid, economical and eflicient manner.

To the accomplishment of this and related ends said invention consistsof the steps hereinafter fully described and particularly set forth inthe claims, such claims having the heat. ture,

been divided out of my co-pending application filed November 25, 1904,Serial No; 234,101.

The present process, as will be later made clear, is to be distinguishedfrom processes of soldering bonds to rails whether by electrical orother means; for by a homogeneous mechanical juncture I mean todesignate a union between themetals composing the bonds and rail moreintimate than that secured at the low temperature at which solder willmelt. The soldered bond has never proven a success practically for thereason that a soldered joint is first of all mechanically weak and abond thus attached can be very easily stripped off the rail; in fact,in. actual use, they very frequently shake ofi merely owing to thevibration occasioned by passing cars. Since such bonds may be put on ata low temperature, as stated, a blow torch is ordinarily employed tosupply As a result of the low temperahowevcr, there is no change made inthe character of the contacting. faces oi the bond and rail, but merelya sufiicient heat ing of the same is had to permit the solder desiredjuncture. oi the character here under consideration are to behaudled,the method just descrlbed to tack, as it were, the bond thereto. Notonly is this type of joint mechanically inefficient, but also theelectrical conductivity of such joint is deficient, since it is almostimpossible to get a thorough contact between the contiguous faces ofbond and rail, the solder melting out and oxidizing, even at the lowtemperature secured by a torch, so as to leave the contact broken inspots. y

A welded union obviously presents'many superior characteristics 'to asoldered joint of the kind just discussed. A very serious diilicultyarises, however, when it is attempted to efl ect this k'nd of a jointbetween a bond'and rail, for; not only are the masses of the two bodieswidely disparate, but the materials of which they are composed likewisediffer very much in their heat conducting character and in theirtemperatures of fusion. Owing to the higher temperature needed to weldmaterials of the kind here involved,'as well as the requirement that theheat be localized-in other words, that its application be limited to arestricted ortion of the rail-., experimenters in bon g by welding orbrazing have for the most part employed the electric current as theheating-agent.

I am aware of the several processes of soldering or weldingelectrically, generally known as the Thomson processes, but these, as iswell understood, have never been successfully'applied .to the uniting ofbodies, or mass-es. of unlike characteristics as to fusibility withoutmore or less modification, since such method consists in, simultaneouslyraising the temperature of the two bodies to be joined to the meltingpoint either by the passage of an electric current directlytherethrough, the desired heat be-v ing produced by the resistanceencountered at the joint, or else by passing such a current throughelcctrodes'having a high electrical resistance pressed against the twobodies to be joined at points adjacent to the here, however, bodies willobviously not,securc the result sought, namely, the heating of the twobodies equally. Various modifications of the general method of Thomsonhave hence from I time to time been brought forth in an effort Thus ithas been sought to obviate the difliculty encountered in the applicationof the Thomson process to the welding of bodies of unequal mass, orhaving different characteristics as to fusibility, by reducing the crosssectional area of contact in the case of one body, whereby the raisingin temperatures of the two bodies may be properly controlled to bringthem to the necessary welding temperature simultaneously. The resultantwelding, however, is confined to the points of contact, in other words,the entire contacting superficial areas are not united. This method,while useful in certain connections, is obviously impractical for thebonding of rails, inasmuch as a thorough contact of the entire bondterminal is essential tothe successful operation of the bond inconducting the current from one rail to the other.

Accordingly, while the method just described may in certain instancesproduce a satisfactory mechanical joint, it does not produce a goodelectrical joint. In another process, it has been sought to overcome thedifiiculty noted by preliminarily and independently heating the sectionof the rail to which the bond terminal is to be applied. This process,althoughin a certain and limited sense effective, has provenobjectionable on account of the double operation involved and consequentloss of time, the joint, owing to the presence of the large mass ofhighly heated steel, cooling relatively slowly and thus not onlyentailing delay but also causing deterioration of the bond at the pointof juncture. In still another method a welding or brazing of the bond tothe rail has been sought to be accomplished by concentrating heat fromtwo external sources upon the metals at opposite sides of the joint asin the Thomson process, but varying the respective heat intensities asthe nature of the metals might require. The difiiculties in practicallycarrying out this method of bonding will likewise be apparent, for asidefrom the more or less delicate character of the adjustment of the heatintensity involved, this method like the one preceding involves theheating of a relatively large section of the rail with the sameconsequences above named. Neither of the two' at the same time therapidity by which the operation may be carried on is much increased.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detailcertain steps embodying the principle of my invention, the disclosedmethod, however, being but one of various ways in which the principle ofmy invention may be employed.

- In said annexed drawings :Figure 1 represents a vertical transversecross-sectionof a standard steel rail and a bond applied thiereto, andin position for the bonding process. In this figure, I have alsoillustrated a portion of the means for bolding the bond in place and forsupplying the. necessary electrically generated heat for carrying outthe process. Fig. 2 represents a front elevation of one of the bondsused in this process, a portion of the cementing or fluxing material,the introduction of which between the bond and rail characterizes thepresent specific form of my process, being shown broken away on one endof such bond; in this figure, 'I have also indicated in dotted lines theends of two contiguous rails so as to show the relative positions ofsaid rails and bond. Fig. 3 represents an elevational view of the stripof fiuxing material such as may be applied to the bond and the rail, asindicated in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 representsa vertical transverse section ofsuch strip. Fig. 5 represents a view similar to that of Fig. l butshowing the bond in its condition of firm union with the rail, the lowerend of the device for clamping the head of the bond being also shown inthe position which it occupies at the end of the process; Fig. 6repfsents an elevational view ofthe mechanism for moving a clamping andheating device that may be used in my improved process, toward and fromthe rail and also vertically. Fig. 7 represents an end elevation of suchmechanism; Fig. 8 is a transverse sectionof aportion of such mechanismand-Fig. 9 shows in diagrammatic fashion an optional arrangement of theelectric circuit as employed in carrying on my improved process.

My improved process is preferably carried out in the hereinafterdescribed manner: The bond A is preferably formed of laminations ofcopper ribbon of suitable dimensions, one form being that shown in Fig.2, wherein the bond is given a general U-shaped form with widenedterminals a, a. The one surface of such terminal is covered with a stripB of sheet brass or bronze, or similar material, which possesses acomparatively high melting point, such melting point being, however,lower than that of copper and which will, when melted, serve to morereadily and evenly conduct the heat from the copper to the steel, and toprotect the adjacent faces of the bond and rail dur- 60 D is' secured,the latter being in electrical ing the heating process. The strip ofbrass is preferably formed as shown, with a multiplicity ofindentations 1) formed alternately upon opposite sides of the strip, as

clearly appears in Figs. 3 and 4. Through the medium of theseindentations it will be seen that the surface of the strip in contactwith the copper bond is reduced so as to be considerably less than thewhole surface of said strip. The part that .this detail plays in thegeneral process will be more fully ex-- plained later. This strip ofbrass or bronze is secured to the bond terminals mechanically, in anysuitable manner as, for exwhich it is intended to apply the said bondare first cleansed to remove therefrom scale and rust, which mightdetract from the formation of a perfect union. This is preferablydone'bygrinding or chiseling which mav be done by any suitable mechanism.

- The terminals of the bond are then applied to such surfaces and in amanner suchas to interpor-re the brass or bronze strip between the bondproper and the rails, as shown in Fig. 2. It will be noted that in thisposition the area of the surface of the strip in contact with the railis considerably less than" the entire opposing surfaces of the saidbondand rail. The bond being so placed by'hand or by means of. a suitableholder,'a heating device D is next caused to press upon the outersurface of the bond terminals, as

shown, so as to hold the bond firmly in the described position.

The heating device here chosen for illustrative purposes is shown inpart only and consists essentially of a block of carbon D so mountedas'to be movable in a vertical direc tion together. with its holder,whereby the required position thereof may be effected opposite thatportion of the lateral surface of the rail to which it is desired toattach the bond, such block being furthermore movable "in atransversedirectionwith-respect to the rail surface thus referred to. Somuch ofthe mounting or holder of the block as is herein shown consists simplyof an electrical conductor (Z, with whose lower end is connected theholder proper d. It is to the medium of the said holder at.

inner surface of the latter that carbon block connection with theconductor (1 through the ductor (Z is flexibly connected with a supportE that is movable upwardly and down- Such con-' wardly and toward andfrom the rail to permit ofthe adjustments of the carbon block justdescribed. By the means just described such carbon may be caused to bearfirmly against the bond in position and hold the same tightly to therail. A suitable source of electricity is provided for passing a currentthrough a circuit including carbon D, whereby the latter may be raisedto any desired degree of temperature owing to the resistance interposedby the material of which it is made to the passage of such currenttherethrough, the preferred arrangement of circuit being thatillustrated in Fig. 9.

The bond having been placed, as previously described in contact with theadjacent ends of the two rails to be joined, see Fig. 2, wherein suchrail ends are shown in dotted outline, the carbon block is broughtagainst one of the terminals ofthe bond and.

preferably, for. a reason to be explained presently, in such manner asto cause the block to assume a slightly inclined position as is shown inFig. 5. Current is now turned on and passed through the carbon block,

bond terminal, interposed strip of brass or bronze and the rail.

Owing to the character of the interposed strip, fully described above,suflicient resistance isdeveloped to eifect the fusion of such stripupon the initial application of current. The continued passage of thecurrent through the carbonblock' causes the latter thereupon to behighly heated and such heat is transmitted by conduction through thebond and now molten strip, which in its fused condition forms a superiorheat and electricity conducting joint between the bond and rail,whereupon the contacting face of the rail becomes heatedand softened toa sufficient extent to form a homogeneous union or weld with the copperof the bond terminal. During such heating and softening of thecopper ofthe bond terminal and contiguous rail face, the flexible conductor (1permits of the required pressure,- and hence contact, between the carbonand terminal. At the termination of the process the carbon stilloccupies the inclined position shown in Fig. 5, whereby it isseen thatthe greater pressure is applied at the upper ends of the bond terminal.lower portion of the bond terminal indicated by a; in the aforementionedFig. 5 is thus maintained. Were it reduced, as would be the case if thecarbon was applied squarely, the electrical conductivity of ,the bondwould be reduced below its designed amount.

The above described process may be carried outsimultaneously upon thetwo terminals if desired, in which event a duplicate of the device I)just described is pro- The normal cross section of the vided, preferablyupon the same support,

as illustrated in Fig. 6. \Vhile the above described process embodiesthe preferred way of carrying out my improved method, and effects therequired result with facility, I have found that it is not essential, inso far as concerns the spirit of the invention, to use either a flux orastrip of brass or bronze, but that the copper may be united directly tothe steel rail by the steps hereinbefore described, providing a currentsuch as will elfectthe necessary temperature be utilized. Results inpractice, however, hare shown that the temperature application has to beprolonged with attendant possibility of injury to the structure of therail head, which it is one of the. purposes of the present process toavoid as has already been pointed out. The process may also be can riedout without passing the heating electric current through the bond, inother Words without introducing the bond and rail into the electriccircuit, but by maintaining the contact of the carbonblock with thebond'terminal and passing the current through the carbon block only, thelatter being directly connected in the circuit, where the rail is notthe return conductor.

In other words, regarding the process in its general aspect, such blockconstitutes simply an external heat source whereby heat maybe applied toor concentrated upon the bond. The latter then conducts the heat thusreceived to the portion of the rail that it is desired immediately toaffect and beingof a character such as to permit this conduction at avery rapid rate, more rapidly, in other words, than the heat can bedissipated through the rail, I find that the contacting superficies ofthe two bodies are raised practically simultaneously to the re quiredwelding temperature. This, it will be obvious, is accomplished withoutthe loss of time and waste of energy that would be incidental to raisingto such temperature the entire section of rail adj acentto the portionto be bonded. By reason of the'high welding temperature of copper andsteel and the conduction of heat by the rail, the current may be turnedoff practically simultaneously with the pressureand a satisfactory jointproduced. This feature, it will hence be seen, facilitates the operationby dispensing with theprolonged application of the pressure after thecurrent is turned off, such prolonged pressure. being a necessaryfeature not merely of the Tho rson process, but so far as I am aware, ofall of the later modifications of this process to which reference hasbeen made above.

The use of the'strip of brass or bronze, as has been pointed out, has afurther beneficial effect in that, owing to its fusion at an early stageof the operation, a body is introduced between the bond and rail, whichwill be a good conductor of heat as well as welding temperature. platedthat the preliminary fusion of thesubsequent stage of the operation,while the bond and rail face are being brought to a While it iscontemstrip may be best accomplished by constituting of it an element ofresistance, as by the means hereinbeforedescribed, so that 'the initialeffect of as electric current (before suliicient time has necessarilyelapsed to raise the carbon block to incandescence) will be to melt thestrip, obviously,'however, the relatively lower fusing point of thematerial of the strip will insure such preliminary melting, were therising .temperature of the electrode alone depended upon as the sourceof heat. In conclusion it should be noted that in general I herein referto the juxtaposed or contiguous faces of the bond and. rail at thedesired point of union, as the contacting faces. This is simply foruniformity in expression, and does not of necessity imply that the facesin question, are literally in contact, especially not at the beginningof the operation, nor where a sheet of brass or bronze is interposed, asis the case in the specific mode of carrying out the process hereinalone claimed.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employedinstead of the one explained, change being made as regards the processherein disclosed, provided the step or steps stated by any one of thefollowing claims or the equivalents of such stated step or stepsbeemployed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as myinyentionz- 1. The method of homogeneously uniting metal bodies havingunlike heat conductivities, which consists in interposing between saidbodies at the desired point of union a relatively more fusible material;holding said bodies in contact with such' material; and thereuponapplying heat from a single external source to said bodies, the heatapplied to the body of greater conductivity passing by conductionthrough such body and interposed material to'the cont-acting face of thesecond body, whereby said first body and suchcont-acting face of thesecond body are brought to a welding'temperature practicallysimultaneously, substantially as described.

2. The method of homogeneouslyuniting metal bodies having unlike heatconductivities, which consists in interposing between said bodies at thedesired point of union, or joint, a relatively. more fusible material;holding said bodies in contact with such material; and thereuponapplying heat to that side of the joint only on which the body ofgreater conductiyity'is located, whereby said body of greaterconductivity and the contacting face of the other body are brought to all'fiitill'lg' tempe 'ature p 'actically simultaneously, substantiallyas described. I

3. The method of homogeneously uniting metal bodies having unlikecharacteristics welding temperature practically simultaneously;substantially as described.

.4. The methodofhomogeneously uniting metal bodies of unlike masses anddifferent temperatures of fusion, the smaller mass having both the lowertemperature and the greater heat conductivity; which consists ininterposing between said bodies at the desired point of union, or joint,-a relatively more fusiblematerial; and thereupon applying heat to thatside of the joint only on which the first or smaller body is located,whereby said smaller body and the contacting face of the larger body arebroughtto' a welding temperature practically simultaneously,substantially as described.

' The method of homogeneously uniting a bondto a rail, which consists ininterposing between the bond and rail at the desired point of union, orjoint, a relatively more fusible material; holding said bond and railincontact with such material; and heating such jointv from the bond,side only such heating being effected by pressing an electrodeof high.resistance against the outer face of saidbond and then 'passing an electric current through said electrode, such-current beingadaptcd toproduce a high temperature in said electrode, thereby effectivelyheating the contacting face of said rail from the same electrode byconduction through said bond and interposed material, whereby said bondand such contacting face of the rail are brought to a weldingtemperature practically simultaneously, substantially as describcd.

6. The method of homogeneously uniting mctalbodies having unlikecharacteristics as to fusibility, the first, or more readily fusible,body having. also the greater heat conductivity; which consists ininterposing between said bodies at the desired point of union a materialmore readily fusible than either of said bodies; holdingsaid bodies in.contact with said mate-rial: fusing such material, and bringing saidfirst body and the contacting face of the second body to a weh ingtemperature practically simultaneously. by applying boatfrom an externalsource to said first body only, thereby effectively heating suchcontacting face of the second body by conduction through such firstbody, substantially as described.

'7. .The method of homogeneously uniting metal bodies having unlikemasses and ditferent temperatures of fusion. the first, or smaller, bodyhaving both the lower temperature of fusion and the greater heatconductivity, which consists in interposing between said bodies at thedesired point of union a. material having a. temperature of fusion lowerthan that of said first body; holding said bodies in contact with suchmaterial; fusing such material, and bringing said first body and thecontacting face of the second body to a welding temperature practicallysimultaneously. by pressing an electrode of high resistan ;-.c againstsaid first body only and passing a heating electric current through saidelectrode, whereby the latter is raised to a high temperature, therebyeffectively heating such contacting face of the second body byconduction through such first body, substantially as do scribed.

8. The method of homogeneously uniting metal bodies having unlikecharacteristics as tp/fu-sibility, which consists in interposing betweensaid bodies at the desired'point of union a relatively more fusiblematerial;

holding said bodies in contact with such material; pressing an electrodeof high resistance against the outer face of the first, or

more readily fusible, body only; then passing an electric currentthrough said electrode, bodies, and interposed material, the resistanceof the joint between .said bodies being such as to efiectthe fusion ofsaid material upon the initial application of current, and such currentbeing adapted to develop a high temperature in said electrode; andsecuring effective heating of the contacting face of the second body byconduction from the same electrodethrough said first body and the jointthus made to such contacting face, whereby said first body and suchcontacting face of the second body are brought to a welding temperaturepractically simultaneously, substantially as described.

9. The method of homogeneously uniting metal bodies of unlike masses anddifferent tem eratures of fusion, the smaller mass having also the lowertemperature of fusion,

which consists ininterposing between said bodies at the desired point ofunion a material having a temperature of fusion lower than that of saidsmaller body; holding said bodies in contact with such material,pressing an electrode of high resistance against the outer face of saidsmaller body only;

then passing an electric current through said electrode, bodies andinterposed material, the resistance of the joint between said bodiesbeing made such as to effectthe fusion' of said material upon theinitial application of current, and such current being adaptedsubsequently ,to develop a high temperature in said electrode; andsecuring effective heating of the contacting face of said larger body byconduction from the same electrode through said smaller body and thejoint thus made to such contacting face of said larger body, wherebysaid smaller body and such contacting face of the larger body arebrought to a welding temperature practically simul taneously,substantially as described.

10. The method of homogeneously uniting metal bodies of unlike massesand diflercnt temperatures of fusion, the smaller mass having both thelower temperature of fusion and the greater heat conductivity, whichconsists in int-erposing between said bodies at the desired point ofunion a material having a temperature of fusion lower than that of saidsmaller bodyfholding said bodies in contact with such material; pressing an electrode of high resistance against the outer face of saidsmaller body only; then passing a heating electric current through saidelectrode, bodies, and interposed material, said material beingformed toproduce a resistance at the joint between said bodies adapted to effectthe fusion of said material upon the initial application of current, andsuch current being adapted subsequently to develop a high temperature insaid electrode; and securing effective heating of the contacting face ofthe larger body by conduction from the same electrode through saidsmaller body and the joint thus made to such contacting face, wherebysaid smaller body and such contacting face of the larger body arebrought to a welding temperature practically simultaneously,substantially as described.

11. The method of homogeneously uniting a bond, to a steel-rail, whichconsists in interposing betweensaid bond and rail at the desired pointof union, a braze having a temperature of fusion lower than that of saidbond; holding said bond and braze against the rail at such point;pressing an electrode having a high resistance against the outer face ofsaid bond only; and then passing a heating electric current through saidelectrode, bond, braze and rail, said braze being formed to produce aresistance at the joint between said bond and rail adapted to effect thefusion of said braze upon the initial application of current, and suchcurrent being adapted subsequently to develop a high temperature in saidelectrode; and securing the effective heating of the contacting face ofthe rail by conduction from the same electrode through said bond and thejoint thus made to such face, whereby said bond and such contacting faceof the rail are brought to a welding temperature practicallysimultaneously, substantially as described. 4

Signed by me this 15th day of October, 1908.

ALBERT B. HERRICK.

Attested by W. H, WHENY, J. D. FAY.

